Rupert Murdoch and the Laws of Physics

Posted Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at 8:46 PM

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. And so it goes with Rupert Murdoch and his eavesdropping titans at the now defunct World News.

Being a native Chicago girl, I first heard of Murdoch in the 80's when his empire began to unfold like an inflatable raft filling a corporate closet with hot air. Amid protests, Murdoch bought the then illustrious Chicago Sun Times. The late, great columnist, Mike Royko said that "no self-respecting fish would be wrapped in a Murdoch paper," and defected to the Chicago Tribune. Others followed, and the building began to quake from the pitter-patter of big feet. Many Sun Times readers then defected to the conservative Chicago Tribune.

My parents switched, too, even though my father hated politics and hadn't voted since the Eisenhower campaign. But Murdoch, setting his sights set on being king of the rag world, said "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" with an Australian accent and continued the ascent which, according to a law of physics, led to his eventual descent. Whatever goes up must come down, the law reads, and it holds true most of the time except for people like Oprah. It is especially true for people who hack, are rude, act bizarre, honk at other drivers for not hitting the gas quickly enough at stoplights and commit other crimes against humanity.

What do kings like Rupert Murdoch and Idi Amin do? They expand their empire through corruption and intimidation. That's what, and so it began, or continued. It's one thing for a country to spy on another to gain access to secrets, like what date and time they intend to drop by for a hostile take over. It's another to pay the police for information and spy on private citizens all in the name of sales. And their power expanded, as Andy Coulson, one of his rag princes, wound up as a Press Secretary at 10 Downing Street.

But now that is all over. Why, oh why, couldn't Rupert Murdoch been content to join an organization like the Sierra Club and hike through the woods classifying flora and fauna? Maybe then the state of journalism would be well, more journalistic.